


The Most Beautiful Things

by girlandherbooks (ayizan)



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Gift Fic, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 21:44:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2125701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayizan/pseuds/girlandherbooks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble about Shepard and Thane, resting during a rare moment alone in ME2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Most Beautiful Things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pandasinthetardis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandasinthetardis/gifts).



She was a light sleeper, waking to almost any sound. It was a defensive mechanism; she was a soldier who never quite left the battlefield. But he was trained for silence. So she awoke to him stroking her hair.

“All is well, siha.” He said, seeing her body lose the relaxed state of sleep. She gave him a questioning look. “I just missed you.”

It was a simple admission, but hard-won for both of them. The assassin and the officer. They each had their own code, their own rules, and somehow had found each other despite their differences. There was enough that was the same. They both had ghosts to follow them, and loved ones lost. Thane had found comfort in her arms. She, she had found a peace she had never understood.

But there could be no lasting peace in this war. A steady beeping started from the nearby terminal. Some vital message, a warning, or someone else to save. With a sigh, she pulled herself out of bed, kissing Thane lightly on the cheek. “I missed you too.”

Thane had been preoccupied with loss these past weeks. His son was returned to him, but there was still a great emptiness between them. Things that could not be regained. She was with him, supporting him, even as she bore the stress of the whole crew on her shoulders. He should not rely on her strength but as his own health deteriorated he found that he needed her more and more.

A response provided, she closed the terminal and poked him in the side. “You’ve been very maudlin these last few days. Let’s see if we can fix that.” She fell back onto the bed, beckoning him to her. Thane took her hand and smiled.

Each time she left the ship, Thane said a prayer, to Arashu, to Kalahira, any of the gods who might listen. And each time she returned, he prayed in thanksgiving. She would not be able to remember him perfectly when he was gone, so he vowed to give her as many memories as possible.

She often worried about her strange drell assassin; a man so skilled with his hands in battle, and in bed. There was no one more precious to her, and so she relished every moment with him. And she feared that her missions would bring him to an early grave. Let the younger ones fight for her. She needed something, someone, to come home to. He was her safe harbor. And she would never let him go. 

**Author's Note:**

> Some say an army on horseback,  
> some on foot, and some say ships  
> are the most beautiful things  
> on this black earth,  
> but I say  
> it is whatever you love.
> 
> Sappho (tr Stanley Lombardo)
> 
> For pandasintheimpala (pandasinthetardis) who is going through a tough time.


End file.
